Head to the alley, then go upstairs to discover South Tacoma’s speakeasy cider bar

After an up-and-down 18 months serving cider from a converted garage behind his house, brewer Brennan Sandstrom will introduce a new taproom in the heart of South Tacoma.

With only a back entrance — accessible via the alley between 54th and 56th Streets, with South Tacoma Way to the west and South Puget Sound Avenue to the east — the new digs evoke a similar speakeasy vibe to the owner’s first home-based bar, albeit in a more typical commercial retail space.

Discovery Cider Co. will focus on house ciders, including Sandstrom’s popular raspberry, cherry and blueberry made with local produce, plus pomegranate, orange-citrus and jalapeno. He also plans to offer more single varietals such as Newtown Pippin, one of the oldest American apples that made its way to England as early as the 18th century.

“They have definitely changed,” Sandstrom said of his ciders, noting a more subtle blueberry flavor in particular. “You kind of grow and change.”

One thing that remains the same is his dedication to Washington apples and hand-forged ciders — though he swapped his vintage wooden press for a mechanical hydropress, which uses water pressure to press juice from milled fruit. Ciders undergo 10 days of primary fermentation with high-quality champagne yeast and 30 days of secondary rest. They are then force-carbonated for extra effervescence and back-sweetened with sugar, fruit juice or honey. (Sandstrom is also a beekeeper.)

Additional taps will feature local brews from the likes of Lacey’s Top Rung and Tacoma’s Gig Harbor Brewing, as well as Washington wine.

Under the name Tin Hat Cider, Sandstrom opened the initial garage taproom in February 2020. Though the liquor license was relatively easy to procure thanks to permissive home-brewing laws, the city business licenses proved more troublesome. City spokesperson Maria Lee told The News Tribune that while on-site production was permitted, a home-based business could serve customers by appointment only, not through open walk-in hours. She also referenced the deck seating Sandstrom built when the state banned indoor dining for bars without food — the case for most brewery taprooms — due to the pandemic. It was considered an outdoor display of the home business, she said, which violated city code.

Sandstrom had been inspired by two similar setups in Puyallup: Cockrell Hard Cider operates on a residential property and working apple orchard, and Off Camber Brewing brews in a converted garage and offers outdoor seating in an adjacent beer garden.

Following a few months of casually searching for alternative locations, preferably in his home South Tacoma neighborhood, he formally yielded last July.

The new bar resides above what was, for one year, The Main Ingredient Pizzeria. Prior tenant Stonegate Pizza had outfitted the west-facing side of the second floor with a stage for live music; it’s now walled off as a separate unit.

At the behest of building owners Theory Real Estate, Sandstrom retained their bartop with the colorful visages of rock stars like John Lennon, as well as the industrial stucco-and-brick wall.

Discovery — boasting two skylights and large windows providing ample natural light — looks over South Puget Sound Avenue. With room for about 40 people, a narrow balcony adds outdoor seating, and Sandstrom anticipates food trucks will park in the private lot off the back alley.

He changed the name from Tin Hat to Discovery in part because there was another small cidery in Vermont with the same name and because he wanted a fresh start. The name also speaks to the many natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest, he said.

Having a standard bar setup has its perks: Only residents can work at a home-based business, per City of Tacoma law. Now Sandstrom, a National Guardsman who kept busy these past two years on various COVID-related assignments, and his wife Berlyn can hire employees.

DISCOVERY CIDER CO.

▪ 5419 South Tacoma Way, Suite B, (entrance off alley behind South Tacoma Way between 54th and 56th streets), Tacoma, 253-355-2637, facebook.com/Discoveryciderco

▪ Friday 4:30-10:30 p.m., Saturday 2:30-10:30 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

▪ Details: cider taproom with house brews plus local beer and wine; open as of January 2022; follow instagram.com/discoveryciderco for updates

Editor’s Note 1/04/2022, 2:25 p.m.: This story has been updated with comment from the City of Tacoma on home-based businesses.

This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 10:40 AM.